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Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States.1 The 2011 National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) demonstrated that low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) screening provided a 20% relative reduction in lung cancer–specific mortality.2 Based on these findings, the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) published lung cancer screening guidelines in 2013 recommending an annual LDCT of the thorax in patients aged 55 to 80 years with a 30 pack-year smoking history and who currently smoke or quit within the past 15 years. 

In 2021, the USPSTF updated its recommendations by reducing the qualifications for annual screening to a 20 pack-year smoking history.3 The updated guidelines recognized the increased risk of lung cancer for Black individuals.4,5 Evidence suggests the 2013 screening criteria was too conservative for this population.6,7

Similarly, US Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) patients are a population at higher risk for lung cancer due to a male predominance, presence of comorbidities, exposure to carcinogenic agents, and possibly a higher prevalence of tobacco smoking.8 This study sought to examine the applicability of the USPSTF guidelines in a VA health care system with a predominantly Black population.

Methods

A retrospective chart review of adult patients who were diagnosed and treated with early-stage small cell or non–small cell lung cancer (stage I or II) was performed within the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System (SLVHCS) in New Orleans. The review used data from the VA Cancer Registry from January 1, 2005, through December 31, 2017. Patients were grouped by whether they met 2013 USPSTF screening criteria at time of diagnosis vs those that did not. Data collected included type and stage of lung cancer at time of diagnosis, context of diagnosis (incidental, screening, symptomatic), diagnostic method, smoking history, and presence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Patients without a clear smoking history documented in the health record were excluded.

Statistical analyses were performed with GraphPad Prism 8.0. Student t test and Fischer exact test were performed for most of the statistical analyses, with differences between groups noted to be statistically significant at a P < .05.

 

Results

A total of 182 patient charts were reviewed and 13 patients were excluded for missing information related to the USPSTF screening criteria. Of the 169 patients included, 122 (72%) met USPSTF screening criteria while 47 (28%) patients did not. The reasons for not meeting screening criteria were 14 patients were too young at and 9 patients were too old at time of diagnosis, 7 had a < 20 pack-year smoking history, 7 patients had quit > 15 years previously, and 12 patients met multiple exclusion criteria. The study population was 96% male and there was an overall predominance of Black patients (58%) within the sample (Table).

Baseline Characteristics

There was a significantly higher proportion of Black patients in the group that did not meet screening criteria compared with the group that met screening criteria (68% vs 54%, P = .04). Cancer type and stage at diagnosis were similar in both patient populations. There was a statistically significant difference in COPD diagnosis between the groups, with a larger proportion of COPD patients in the met screening criteria group (74% vs 45%, P < .001). The mean smoking history was 61.4 pack-years in the met criteria group and 43.3 pack-years in the did not meet criteria group.  

Five additional patients in the group that did not meet the 2013 USPSTF screening criteria would have met criteria if the 2021 USPSTF guidelines were applied. All 5 were Black patients. Using the 2021 guidelines, Black patients would have made up 56% of the patients who met screening criteria and 54% of the patients who did not meet screening criteria at time of diagnosis.

 

 

Discussion

This study sought to determine the hypothetical effectiveness of national lung cancer screening guidelines in detecting early-stage lung cancer for a high-risk population. Patients diagnosed with early-stage lung cancer were selected as these patients have improved outcomes with treatment, and thus would theoretically benefit from early detection through screening. As expected, the study population had a majority of Black veterans (58%), with a higher proportion of Black patients in the did not meet screening criteria group compared with the met screening criteria group (68% vs 54%, P = .04). This difference highlights the concern that Black individuals were being underscreened with the 2013 USPSTF guidelines.7 This is not all surprising as the NLST, from which the initial screening guidelines were based, included a majority White population with only 4.4% of their population being Black.2 The USPSTF also cites the NELSON trial as evidence to support annual lung cancer screening, a trial that was performed in the Netherlands with a very different population compared with that of southeast Louisiana.9

Given concern that the old criteria were underscreening certain populations, the updated 2021 USPSTF guidelines sought to expand the screening population. In this study, the implementation of these new guidelines resulted in more Black patients meeting screening criteria.

Racial and ethnic disparities in health care in the US are no secret, as Black individuals consistently have increased disease and death rates, higher rates of unemployment, and decreased access to preventive medical care compared to White individuals.10 Despite the updated USPSTF guidelines, additional modifications to the screening criteria could improve the ability to identify high-risk patients. A modified model using data from the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Screening Trial (PLCO) incorporating COPD history, race and ethnicity, and personal history of cancer increased the sensitivity for high-risk Black ever-smokers.11 Additional models and analyses also support the utility of incorporating race and ethnicity in lung cancer screening criteria.7,12 Using race and ethnicity to guide screening criteria for cancer is not unheard of; in 2017, the US Multi-Society Task Force recommended that Black individuals start colon cancer screening at age 45 years rather than the typical age of 50 years, before updating the guidelines again in 2021 to recommend that all adults start at age 45 years.13,14

Limitations

This study had the inherent weakness of being a retrospective study at a single institution. Additionally, the 7th edition of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer was published in 2010, during the 2005 to 2017 time frame from which our data was collected, leading to possible inconsistencies in staging between patients before and after 2010.15 However, these changes in staging are unlikely to significantly impact the results for in this study, since the vast majority of the patients diagnosed with lung cancer stage I or II before 2010 would still be in the those 2 stages in the 2010 edition. Finally, specific to our patient population, it was often difficult to ascertain an accurate smoking history for each patient, especially in the early years of the data set, likely due to the disruption of care caused by Hurricane Katrina.

Conclusions

In this retrospective study performed at the SLVHCS in New Orleans, a significantly higher proportion of Black patients compared with White patients with early-stage lung cancer did not meet the 2013 USPSTF lung cancer screening guidelines at time of diagnosis, highlighting the concern that this population was being underscreened. These findings demonstrate the challenges and failures of applying national guidelines to a unique, high-risk population. An individualized, risk-based screening model incorporating race and ethnicity could be more effective at diagnosing early-stage lung cancer and requires more investigation. Centralized lung cancer screening programs within the VA system could also be beneficial for early detection and treatment, as well as provide insight into the increased risk within the veteran population.

References

1. Siegel RL, Miller KD, Jemal A. Cancer statistics, 2020. CA Cancer J Clin 2020;70:7-30. doi:10.3322/caac.21590

2. National Lung Screening Trial Research Team, Aberle DR, Adams AM, et al. Reduced lung-cancer mortality with low-dose computed tomographic screening. N Engl J Med. 2011;365(5):395-409. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa110287

3. US Preventive Services Task Force, Krist AH, Davidson KW, et al. Screening for lung cancer: US Preventive Services Task Force recommendation statement. JAMA. 2021;325(10):962-970. doi:10.1001/jama.2021.1117

4. Jonas DE, Reuland DS, Reddy SM, et al. Screening for lung cancer with low-dose computed tomography: updated evidence report and systematic review for the US Preventive Services Task Force. JAMA. 2021;325(10):971-987. doi:10.1001/jama.2021.0377

5. Haiman CA, Stram DO, Wilkens LR, et al. Ethnic and racial differences in the smoking-related risk of lung cancer. N Engl J Med. 2006;354(4):333-342. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa033250

6. DeSantis CE, Miller KD, Goding Sauer A, Jemal A, Siegel RL. Cancer statistics for African Americans, 2019. CA Cancer J Clin. 2019;69(3):211-233. doi:10.3322/caac.21555

7. Aldrich MC, Mercaldo SF, Sandler KL, Blot WJ, Grogan EL, Blume JD. Evaluation of USPSTF Lung Cancer Screening Guidelines among African American adult smokers. JAMA Oncol. 2019;5(9):1318-1324. doi:10.1001/jamaoncol.2019.1402

8. Brown DW. Smoking prevalence among US veterans. J Gen Intern Med. 2010;25(2):147-149. doi:10.1007/s11606-009-1160-0

9. de Koning HJ, van der Aalst CM, de Jong PA, et al. Reduced lung-cancer mortality with volume CT screening in a randomized trial. N Engl J Med. 2020;382(6):503-513. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1911793

10. Williams DR, Rucker TD. Understanding and addressing racial disparities in health care. Health Care Financ Rev. 2000;21(4):75-90.

11. Pasquinelli MM, Tammemägi MC, Kovitz KL, et al. Risk prediction model versus United States Preventive Services Task Force lung cancer screening eligibility criteria: reducing race disparities. J Thorac Oncol. 2020;15(11):1738-1747. doi:10.1016/j.jtho.2020.08.006

12. Ten Haaf K, Bastani M, Cao P, et al. A comparative modeling analysis of risk-based lung cancer screening strategies. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2020;112(5):466-479. doi:10.1093/jnci/djz164

13. Rex DK, Boland CR, Dominitz JA, et al. Colorectal cancer screening: recommendations for physicians and patients from the US Multi-Society Task Force on Colorectal Cancer. Gastroenterology. 2017;153(1):307-323. doi:10.1053/j.gastro.2017.05.013

14. US Preventive Services Task Force, Davidson KW, Barry MJ, et al. Screening for colorectal cancer: US Preventive Services Task Force recommendation statement. JAMA. 2021;325(19):1965-1977. doi:10.1001/jama.2021.6238

15. Mirsadraee S, Oswal D, Alizadeh Y, Caulo A, van Beek E Jr. The 7th lung cancer TNM classification and staging system: review of the changes and implications. World J Radiol. 2012;4(4):128-134. doi:10.4329/wjr.v4.i4.128

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Thomas N. Rusher, MDa; Lekha Deere, MDb; Albert Jang, MDc; Rahul Kamat, MDc; and Jaime Palomino, MDc,d
Correspondence: Thomas Rusher ([email protected])

aVirginia Commonwealth University, Richmond
bUniversity of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson
cTulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana
dSoutheast Louisiana Veterans Healthcare System, New Orleans

Author disclosures

The authors report no actual or potential conflicts of interest or outside sources of funding with regard to this article.

Disclaimer

The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of Federal Practitioner, Frontline Medical Communications Inc., the US Government, or any of its agencies.

Ethics and consent

The Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System Institutional Review Board approved this study as a minimal risk study.

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Author and Disclosure Information

Thomas N. Rusher, MDa; Lekha Deere, MDb; Albert Jang, MDc; Rahul Kamat, MDc; and Jaime Palomino, MDc,d
Correspondence: Thomas Rusher ([email protected])

aVirginia Commonwealth University, Richmond
bUniversity of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson
cTulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana
dSoutheast Louisiana Veterans Healthcare System, New Orleans

Author disclosures

The authors report no actual or potential conflicts of interest or outside sources of funding with regard to this article.

Disclaimer

The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of Federal Practitioner, Frontline Medical Communications Inc., the US Government, or any of its agencies.

Ethics and consent

The Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System Institutional Review Board approved this study as a minimal risk study.

Author and Disclosure Information

Thomas N. Rusher, MDa; Lekha Deere, MDb; Albert Jang, MDc; Rahul Kamat, MDc; and Jaime Palomino, MDc,d
Correspondence: Thomas Rusher ([email protected])

aVirginia Commonwealth University, Richmond
bUniversity of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson
cTulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana
dSoutheast Louisiana Veterans Healthcare System, New Orleans

Author disclosures

The authors report no actual or potential conflicts of interest or outside sources of funding with regard to this article.

Disclaimer

The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of Federal Practitioner, Frontline Medical Communications Inc., the US Government, or any of its agencies.

Ethics and consent

The Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System Institutional Review Board approved this study as a minimal risk study.

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Article PDF

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States.1 The 2011 National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) demonstrated that low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) screening provided a 20% relative reduction in lung cancer–specific mortality.2 Based on these findings, the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) published lung cancer screening guidelines in 2013 recommending an annual LDCT of the thorax in patients aged 55 to 80 years with a 30 pack-year smoking history and who currently smoke or quit within the past 15 years. 

In 2021, the USPSTF updated its recommendations by reducing the qualifications for annual screening to a 20 pack-year smoking history.3 The updated guidelines recognized the increased risk of lung cancer for Black individuals.4,5 Evidence suggests the 2013 screening criteria was too conservative for this population.6,7

Similarly, US Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) patients are a population at higher risk for lung cancer due to a male predominance, presence of comorbidities, exposure to carcinogenic agents, and possibly a higher prevalence of tobacco smoking.8 This study sought to examine the applicability of the USPSTF guidelines in a VA health care system with a predominantly Black population.

Methods

A retrospective chart review of adult patients who were diagnosed and treated with early-stage small cell or non–small cell lung cancer (stage I or II) was performed within the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System (SLVHCS) in New Orleans. The review used data from the VA Cancer Registry from January 1, 2005, through December 31, 2017. Patients were grouped by whether they met 2013 USPSTF screening criteria at time of diagnosis vs those that did not. Data collected included type and stage of lung cancer at time of diagnosis, context of diagnosis (incidental, screening, symptomatic), diagnostic method, smoking history, and presence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Patients without a clear smoking history documented in the health record were excluded.

Statistical analyses were performed with GraphPad Prism 8.0. Student t test and Fischer exact test were performed for most of the statistical analyses, with differences between groups noted to be statistically significant at a P < .05.

 

Results

A total of 182 patient charts were reviewed and 13 patients were excluded for missing information related to the USPSTF screening criteria. Of the 169 patients included, 122 (72%) met USPSTF screening criteria while 47 (28%) patients did not. The reasons for not meeting screening criteria were 14 patients were too young at and 9 patients were too old at time of diagnosis, 7 had a < 20 pack-year smoking history, 7 patients had quit > 15 years previously, and 12 patients met multiple exclusion criteria. The study population was 96% male and there was an overall predominance of Black patients (58%) within the sample (Table).

Baseline Characteristics

There was a significantly higher proportion of Black patients in the group that did not meet screening criteria compared with the group that met screening criteria (68% vs 54%, P = .04). Cancer type and stage at diagnosis were similar in both patient populations. There was a statistically significant difference in COPD diagnosis between the groups, with a larger proportion of COPD patients in the met screening criteria group (74% vs 45%, P < .001). The mean smoking history was 61.4 pack-years in the met criteria group and 43.3 pack-years in the did not meet criteria group.  

Five additional patients in the group that did not meet the 2013 USPSTF screening criteria would have met criteria if the 2021 USPSTF guidelines were applied. All 5 were Black patients. Using the 2021 guidelines, Black patients would have made up 56% of the patients who met screening criteria and 54% of the patients who did not meet screening criteria at time of diagnosis.

 

 

Discussion

This study sought to determine the hypothetical effectiveness of national lung cancer screening guidelines in detecting early-stage lung cancer for a high-risk population. Patients diagnosed with early-stage lung cancer were selected as these patients have improved outcomes with treatment, and thus would theoretically benefit from early detection through screening. As expected, the study population had a majority of Black veterans (58%), with a higher proportion of Black patients in the did not meet screening criteria group compared with the met screening criteria group (68% vs 54%, P = .04). This difference highlights the concern that Black individuals were being underscreened with the 2013 USPSTF guidelines.7 This is not all surprising as the NLST, from which the initial screening guidelines were based, included a majority White population with only 4.4% of their population being Black.2 The USPSTF also cites the NELSON trial as evidence to support annual lung cancer screening, a trial that was performed in the Netherlands with a very different population compared with that of southeast Louisiana.9

Given concern that the old criteria were underscreening certain populations, the updated 2021 USPSTF guidelines sought to expand the screening population. In this study, the implementation of these new guidelines resulted in more Black patients meeting screening criteria.

Racial and ethnic disparities in health care in the US are no secret, as Black individuals consistently have increased disease and death rates, higher rates of unemployment, and decreased access to preventive medical care compared to White individuals.10 Despite the updated USPSTF guidelines, additional modifications to the screening criteria could improve the ability to identify high-risk patients. A modified model using data from the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Screening Trial (PLCO) incorporating COPD history, race and ethnicity, and personal history of cancer increased the sensitivity for high-risk Black ever-smokers.11 Additional models and analyses also support the utility of incorporating race and ethnicity in lung cancer screening criteria.7,12 Using race and ethnicity to guide screening criteria for cancer is not unheard of; in 2017, the US Multi-Society Task Force recommended that Black individuals start colon cancer screening at age 45 years rather than the typical age of 50 years, before updating the guidelines again in 2021 to recommend that all adults start at age 45 years.13,14

Limitations

This study had the inherent weakness of being a retrospective study at a single institution. Additionally, the 7th edition of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer was published in 2010, during the 2005 to 2017 time frame from which our data was collected, leading to possible inconsistencies in staging between patients before and after 2010.15 However, these changes in staging are unlikely to significantly impact the results for in this study, since the vast majority of the patients diagnosed with lung cancer stage I or II before 2010 would still be in the those 2 stages in the 2010 edition. Finally, specific to our patient population, it was often difficult to ascertain an accurate smoking history for each patient, especially in the early years of the data set, likely due to the disruption of care caused by Hurricane Katrina.

Conclusions

In this retrospective study performed at the SLVHCS in New Orleans, a significantly higher proportion of Black patients compared with White patients with early-stage lung cancer did not meet the 2013 USPSTF lung cancer screening guidelines at time of diagnosis, highlighting the concern that this population was being underscreened. These findings demonstrate the challenges and failures of applying national guidelines to a unique, high-risk population. An individualized, risk-based screening model incorporating race and ethnicity could be more effective at diagnosing early-stage lung cancer and requires more investigation. Centralized lung cancer screening programs within the VA system could also be beneficial for early detection and treatment, as well as provide insight into the increased risk within the veteran population.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States.1 The 2011 National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) demonstrated that low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) screening provided a 20% relative reduction in lung cancer–specific mortality.2 Based on these findings, the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) published lung cancer screening guidelines in 2013 recommending an annual LDCT of the thorax in patients aged 55 to 80 years with a 30 pack-year smoking history and who currently smoke or quit within the past 15 years. 

In 2021, the USPSTF updated its recommendations by reducing the qualifications for annual screening to a 20 pack-year smoking history.3 The updated guidelines recognized the increased risk of lung cancer for Black individuals.4,5 Evidence suggests the 2013 screening criteria was too conservative for this population.6,7

Similarly, US Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) patients are a population at higher risk for lung cancer due to a male predominance, presence of comorbidities, exposure to carcinogenic agents, and possibly a higher prevalence of tobacco smoking.8 This study sought to examine the applicability of the USPSTF guidelines in a VA health care system with a predominantly Black population.

Methods

A retrospective chart review of adult patients who were diagnosed and treated with early-stage small cell or non–small cell lung cancer (stage I or II) was performed within the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System (SLVHCS) in New Orleans. The review used data from the VA Cancer Registry from January 1, 2005, through December 31, 2017. Patients were grouped by whether they met 2013 USPSTF screening criteria at time of diagnosis vs those that did not. Data collected included type and stage of lung cancer at time of diagnosis, context of diagnosis (incidental, screening, symptomatic), diagnostic method, smoking history, and presence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Patients without a clear smoking history documented in the health record were excluded.

Statistical analyses were performed with GraphPad Prism 8.0. Student t test and Fischer exact test were performed for most of the statistical analyses, with differences between groups noted to be statistically significant at a P < .05.

 

Results

A total of 182 patient charts were reviewed and 13 patients were excluded for missing information related to the USPSTF screening criteria. Of the 169 patients included, 122 (72%) met USPSTF screening criteria while 47 (28%) patients did not. The reasons for not meeting screening criteria were 14 patients were too young at and 9 patients were too old at time of diagnosis, 7 had a < 20 pack-year smoking history, 7 patients had quit > 15 years previously, and 12 patients met multiple exclusion criteria. The study population was 96% male and there was an overall predominance of Black patients (58%) within the sample (Table).

Baseline Characteristics

There was a significantly higher proportion of Black patients in the group that did not meet screening criteria compared with the group that met screening criteria (68% vs 54%, P = .04). Cancer type and stage at diagnosis were similar in both patient populations. There was a statistically significant difference in COPD diagnosis between the groups, with a larger proportion of COPD patients in the met screening criteria group (74% vs 45%, P < .001). The mean smoking history was 61.4 pack-years in the met criteria group and 43.3 pack-years in the did not meet criteria group.  

Five additional patients in the group that did not meet the 2013 USPSTF screening criteria would have met criteria if the 2021 USPSTF guidelines were applied. All 5 were Black patients. Using the 2021 guidelines, Black patients would have made up 56% of the patients who met screening criteria and 54% of the patients who did not meet screening criteria at time of diagnosis.

 

 

Discussion

This study sought to determine the hypothetical effectiveness of national lung cancer screening guidelines in detecting early-stage lung cancer for a high-risk population. Patients diagnosed with early-stage lung cancer were selected as these patients have improved outcomes with treatment, and thus would theoretically benefit from early detection through screening. As expected, the study population had a majority of Black veterans (58%), with a higher proportion of Black patients in the did not meet screening criteria group compared with the met screening criteria group (68% vs 54%, P = .04). This difference highlights the concern that Black individuals were being underscreened with the 2013 USPSTF guidelines.7 This is not all surprising as the NLST, from which the initial screening guidelines were based, included a majority White population with only 4.4% of their population being Black.2 The USPSTF also cites the NELSON trial as evidence to support annual lung cancer screening, a trial that was performed in the Netherlands with a very different population compared with that of southeast Louisiana.9

Given concern that the old criteria were underscreening certain populations, the updated 2021 USPSTF guidelines sought to expand the screening population. In this study, the implementation of these new guidelines resulted in more Black patients meeting screening criteria.

Racial and ethnic disparities in health care in the US are no secret, as Black individuals consistently have increased disease and death rates, higher rates of unemployment, and decreased access to preventive medical care compared to White individuals.10 Despite the updated USPSTF guidelines, additional modifications to the screening criteria could improve the ability to identify high-risk patients. A modified model using data from the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Screening Trial (PLCO) incorporating COPD history, race and ethnicity, and personal history of cancer increased the sensitivity for high-risk Black ever-smokers.11 Additional models and analyses also support the utility of incorporating race and ethnicity in lung cancer screening criteria.7,12 Using race and ethnicity to guide screening criteria for cancer is not unheard of; in 2017, the US Multi-Society Task Force recommended that Black individuals start colon cancer screening at age 45 years rather than the typical age of 50 years, before updating the guidelines again in 2021 to recommend that all adults start at age 45 years.13,14

Limitations

This study had the inherent weakness of being a retrospective study at a single institution. Additionally, the 7th edition of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer was published in 2010, during the 2005 to 2017 time frame from which our data was collected, leading to possible inconsistencies in staging between patients before and after 2010.15 However, these changes in staging are unlikely to significantly impact the results for in this study, since the vast majority of the patients diagnosed with lung cancer stage I or II before 2010 would still be in the those 2 stages in the 2010 edition. Finally, specific to our patient population, it was often difficult to ascertain an accurate smoking history for each patient, especially in the early years of the data set, likely due to the disruption of care caused by Hurricane Katrina.

Conclusions

In this retrospective study performed at the SLVHCS in New Orleans, a significantly higher proportion of Black patients compared with White patients with early-stage lung cancer did not meet the 2013 USPSTF lung cancer screening guidelines at time of diagnosis, highlighting the concern that this population was being underscreened. These findings demonstrate the challenges and failures of applying national guidelines to a unique, high-risk population. An individualized, risk-based screening model incorporating race and ethnicity could be more effective at diagnosing early-stage lung cancer and requires more investigation. Centralized lung cancer screening programs within the VA system could also be beneficial for early detection and treatment, as well as provide insight into the increased risk within the veteran population.

References

1. Siegel RL, Miller KD, Jemal A. Cancer statistics, 2020. CA Cancer J Clin 2020;70:7-30. doi:10.3322/caac.21590

2. National Lung Screening Trial Research Team, Aberle DR, Adams AM, et al. Reduced lung-cancer mortality with low-dose computed tomographic screening. N Engl J Med. 2011;365(5):395-409. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa110287

3. US Preventive Services Task Force, Krist AH, Davidson KW, et al. Screening for lung cancer: US Preventive Services Task Force recommendation statement. JAMA. 2021;325(10):962-970. doi:10.1001/jama.2021.1117

4. Jonas DE, Reuland DS, Reddy SM, et al. Screening for lung cancer with low-dose computed tomography: updated evidence report and systematic review for the US Preventive Services Task Force. JAMA. 2021;325(10):971-987. doi:10.1001/jama.2021.0377

5. Haiman CA, Stram DO, Wilkens LR, et al. Ethnic and racial differences in the smoking-related risk of lung cancer. N Engl J Med. 2006;354(4):333-342. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa033250

6. DeSantis CE, Miller KD, Goding Sauer A, Jemal A, Siegel RL. Cancer statistics for African Americans, 2019. CA Cancer J Clin. 2019;69(3):211-233. doi:10.3322/caac.21555

7. Aldrich MC, Mercaldo SF, Sandler KL, Blot WJ, Grogan EL, Blume JD. Evaluation of USPSTF Lung Cancer Screening Guidelines among African American adult smokers. JAMA Oncol. 2019;5(9):1318-1324. doi:10.1001/jamaoncol.2019.1402

8. Brown DW. Smoking prevalence among US veterans. J Gen Intern Med. 2010;25(2):147-149. doi:10.1007/s11606-009-1160-0

9. de Koning HJ, van der Aalst CM, de Jong PA, et al. Reduced lung-cancer mortality with volume CT screening in a randomized trial. N Engl J Med. 2020;382(6):503-513. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1911793

10. Williams DR, Rucker TD. Understanding and addressing racial disparities in health care. Health Care Financ Rev. 2000;21(4):75-90.

11. Pasquinelli MM, Tammemägi MC, Kovitz KL, et al. Risk prediction model versus United States Preventive Services Task Force lung cancer screening eligibility criteria: reducing race disparities. J Thorac Oncol. 2020;15(11):1738-1747. doi:10.1016/j.jtho.2020.08.006

12. Ten Haaf K, Bastani M, Cao P, et al. A comparative modeling analysis of risk-based lung cancer screening strategies. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2020;112(5):466-479. doi:10.1093/jnci/djz164

13. Rex DK, Boland CR, Dominitz JA, et al. Colorectal cancer screening: recommendations for physicians and patients from the US Multi-Society Task Force on Colorectal Cancer. Gastroenterology. 2017;153(1):307-323. doi:10.1053/j.gastro.2017.05.013

14. US Preventive Services Task Force, Davidson KW, Barry MJ, et al. Screening for colorectal cancer: US Preventive Services Task Force recommendation statement. JAMA. 2021;325(19):1965-1977. doi:10.1001/jama.2021.6238

15. Mirsadraee S, Oswal D, Alizadeh Y, Caulo A, van Beek E Jr. The 7th lung cancer TNM classification and staging system: review of the changes and implications. World J Radiol. 2012;4(4):128-134. doi:10.4329/wjr.v4.i4.128

References

1. Siegel RL, Miller KD, Jemal A. Cancer statistics, 2020. CA Cancer J Clin 2020;70:7-30. doi:10.3322/caac.21590

2. National Lung Screening Trial Research Team, Aberle DR, Adams AM, et al. Reduced lung-cancer mortality with low-dose computed tomographic screening. N Engl J Med. 2011;365(5):395-409. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa110287

3. US Preventive Services Task Force, Krist AH, Davidson KW, et al. Screening for lung cancer: US Preventive Services Task Force recommendation statement. JAMA. 2021;325(10):962-970. doi:10.1001/jama.2021.1117

4. Jonas DE, Reuland DS, Reddy SM, et al. Screening for lung cancer with low-dose computed tomography: updated evidence report and systematic review for the US Preventive Services Task Force. JAMA. 2021;325(10):971-987. doi:10.1001/jama.2021.0377

5. Haiman CA, Stram DO, Wilkens LR, et al. Ethnic and racial differences in the smoking-related risk of lung cancer. N Engl J Med. 2006;354(4):333-342. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa033250

6. DeSantis CE, Miller KD, Goding Sauer A, Jemal A, Siegel RL. Cancer statistics for African Americans, 2019. CA Cancer J Clin. 2019;69(3):211-233. doi:10.3322/caac.21555

7. Aldrich MC, Mercaldo SF, Sandler KL, Blot WJ, Grogan EL, Blume JD. Evaluation of USPSTF Lung Cancer Screening Guidelines among African American adult smokers. JAMA Oncol. 2019;5(9):1318-1324. doi:10.1001/jamaoncol.2019.1402

8. Brown DW. Smoking prevalence among US veterans. J Gen Intern Med. 2010;25(2):147-149. doi:10.1007/s11606-009-1160-0

9. de Koning HJ, van der Aalst CM, de Jong PA, et al. Reduced lung-cancer mortality with volume CT screening in a randomized trial. N Engl J Med. 2020;382(6):503-513. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1911793

10. Williams DR, Rucker TD. Understanding and addressing racial disparities in health care. Health Care Financ Rev. 2000;21(4):75-90.

11. Pasquinelli MM, Tammemägi MC, Kovitz KL, et al. Risk prediction model versus United States Preventive Services Task Force lung cancer screening eligibility criteria: reducing race disparities. J Thorac Oncol. 2020;15(11):1738-1747. doi:10.1016/j.jtho.2020.08.006

12. Ten Haaf K, Bastani M, Cao P, et al. A comparative modeling analysis of risk-based lung cancer screening strategies. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2020;112(5):466-479. doi:10.1093/jnci/djz164

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